1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to hangers; and, more particularly, to clothes hangers having a hook for suspending the hanger and a main body portion from which the clothes are suspended.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of hangers are known in the art but all are designed the same and it is usually taken for granted that this primitive design cannot be improved. These hangers are made of various materials, such as wire, plastic, etc. Millions of such hangers are used in the commercial cleaning and laundry art, in the transport and warehousing of newly fabricated garments, in retailing garments, and the in-home use of hanging one's wardrobe. Thus, it is critical that such hangers be relatively inexpensive yet sturdy enough to support garments thereon without sagging or drooping as well as being substantially thin so as to accommodate the minimal areas available on preexisting racks in stores, warehouses, closets or the like. For these reasons, the majority of such hangers used in the commercial cleaning and laundry industry, are of thin wire bent into a shape having a hook at top and a main body portion from which the clothes are suspended. However, such wire hangers cannot be used to hang wet garments or hang clothes in humid climates since the wire rusts. These hangers also bend under the weight of certain garments and the ends of such wire hangers are dangerous. They also have a small cross-sectional radius which creases pants and shirts. They tangle easily, are not aesthetically pleasing and are usually thrown away rather than re-used.
For these reasons, plastic hangers have been suggested. However, such hangers, as, for example, polypropylene hoop-type and polystyrene I-Beam-type hangers, are more expensive than the wire type and thus are not in general use in the commercial laundry industry. Current designs of plastic hangers require a considerable amount of plastic as well as processing time and are not as light in weight as wire hangers. One of the reasons is that all such hangers have a straight cross-beam which thereby requires considerable weight of material to function properly. They are also brittle and weak. This adds considerably to the cost of such hangers in both their manufacture and shipping costs. The wide dimensions of these prior art plastic hangers are prohibitive considering the limited storage space on dry cleaning racks and the like. In the clothing manufacturing and distribution industry, garments are transported and warehoused prior to distribution on plastic hangers made of polystyrene as opposed to wire hangers used in the dry cleaning and laundering industry. Polystyrene is used because it is inexpensive, light, and stiff; however, it is also brittle and requires thick sections to hold the weight to a garment. There is an industry complaint regarding such plastic hangers as constantly breaking, the thick hanger dimensions limiting their warehouse space, and the lack of hanger strength causing garments to droop.
There thus exists a need for a hanger which is inexpensive to manufacture, thin, aesthetically pleasing and reusable. Such hanger should be light in weight, non-brittle and sufficiently inexpensive to manufacture and ship so as to be able to compete with wire hangers used in the commercial laundry and cleaning industry as well as plastic hangers used in the clothing manufacturing industry. Such hangers should be sufficiently aesthetically pleasing so as to be sold at the retail level for home use and pleasing enough to the owner so as not to be discarded when retrieved from the dry cleaners or laundry and re-used at home. It is also desirable that such a hanger use as little plastic material as possible and be as thin as possible yet provide great strength and support without dangerous sharp points and also be able to accommodate advertising thereon, different colors, etc. The foregoing should be accomplished using materials that do not rust and possess hanger dimensions maintaining the shape of a pressed shirt while eliminating bunching of the shirt front while reducing tangling, weight, storage and shipping costs.